


Pork Buns for Lonely Souls

by bleachedthumbs



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Hinata Shouyou & Kageyama Tobio Friendship, Hurt/Comfort, Kageyama Tobio-centric, M/M, aka kageyama likes hinata but hinata hasn't quite realised he liked kageyama too yet, mild hints at kagehina
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-08
Updated: 2019-06-08
Packaged: 2020-04-12 12:34:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,483
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19132120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/bleachedthumbs/pseuds/bleachedthumbs
Summary: i recently learnt that kageyama eats lunch alone and i was so devastated i busted out 2.5k of fix it fic bc kageyama doesn't fuckin deserve to be lonely :''(





	Pork Buns for Lonely Souls

Hinata wouldn’t consider himself particularly popular. He wasn’t especially good at talking with girls, he wasn’t overly great at talking to anyone without panicking, but he did have a small group of friends to call his own. Lunch would always pass them by a blur, conversations flowing so rapidly no one could remember where it started. The pace only tended to change when they noticed something of interest.

“Hey, int that that scary kid you hang around with, Hinata?”

“Oh, is that one who picks fights with vending machines?” Another voice chimed in.

“Oh man I saw that, fucking scary, man. Thought he was gonna punch straight through the glass at one point.”

“Yeah, what’s his name? Kageyama?”

“Yeah, think that’s it. Weird kid, you never really see him with anyone, do ya? Oi, Hinata!”

“Mm! Yeah! Hi!” Hinata snapped up, abandoning his daydream.

“You gotta stop zoning out, man. Anyway, we were talking about that freak kid you know, Kageyama?”

“Oh! Yeah! What about him?”

“Just that you two seem fairly close but I’ve never seen you interact with him outside of volleyball. Never really seen him interact with anyone, to be honest.”

“Well, I think he prefers to be left alone. He’s sorta scary you know.”

“Mm, we know, suppose that makes sense.”

It did make sense. Kageyama didn’t particularly come across as the friendly type, and sure Hinata knows he’s nicer than most people expect him to be, but he does seem the type to enjoy being alone. Hinata got the impression that people he thought lesser than him annoyed him. And Kageyama seemed to think everyone was lesser than him. Especially Hinata, he lamented.

Or maybe he just didn’t want to admit he was lonely.

That thought confused Hinata, presenting him with an unwinnable dilemma: if Kageyama was lonely, and Hinata tried to hang out with him, Kageyama would surely just end up throwing him square into next week. But if Hinata did nothing, and Kageyama _was_ alone...

Hinata sighed, deflated. He knew he should probably see if Kageyama’s okay, but he wasn’t ready to deal with the inevitable offence Kageyama would take. He can handle only so much of his face in one day, it is pretty scary after all.

 

~ ~ ~

 

Last period passed punctuated by the bouncing of Hinata’s restless legs. He was desperate to get on the court after class, the excitement becoming almost unbearable. Hinata’s teachers had stop bothering to try and get him to focus in final periods weeks ago, it was a lost cause they discovered.  
By the time the bell rang, Hinata was bounding out of the room, sprinting down the halls with a smile on his face. He loved volleyball. Not that that was particularly new information to anyone.

Hinata burst through the doors, greeted by stares from the rest of the team. Scanning around the gym, Hinata’s eyes fell on Kageyama, and his heart sunk. He remembered the conversation at lunch.

“Hinata?” Suga called out, tone laced with mild concern.

“Hmm? Oh! Hello Suga-san!”

“Everything okay? ...Are you and Kageyama fighting again?” He sighed, fingers running through his hair. Sugawara had always wanted kids, him and Daichi were particular fond of the idea of having two siblings, but after meeting Hinata and Kageyama they ended up re-evaluating their life choices. Kids were hard work. 

“Suga-san, can I ask you a question?”

Suga noted the lack of denial over the topic of fighting, but beamed at Hinata anyway. “Of course!”

“Uh, say you have a friend... But, you don’t really hang out with them a lot. And no one really sees them with anyone. But they seem to like sticking by themselves. Would you think they’d be lonely?”

“I suppose that depends. If they’re alone by choice, then no. But if not, then of course. Why? Who’s this about?”

“Um, I’m worried that Kageyama’s lonely.”

 “Huh? What makes you think that?”

“Well, I think he eats lunch alone, and-and I know he probably does so by choice! He doesn’t really seem to like people, b-but, what if it isn’t by choice?”

Overhearing the conversation, Tsukishima stepped in under the guise of offering his two cents. “He’s probably used to it. Who’d want to eat lunch with him anyway?” 

“Tsukki!” Hinata pouted, but he knew he wasn’t wrong.

“Why don’t you go ask him? He’s literally over there.” Suga suggested.

“Hwuuuuh? No- I- He’d- No- What if- He’d- I-“

“I’m sure he won’t hit you or anything. I mean, he might but- Just go talk to him Hinata, it’ll be okay!”

Hinata knew that he should ask Kageyama, after all he was probably making a problem out of nothing. Bouncing on the spot, Hinata prepared himself to speak with him. Kageyama was preoccupied bouncing a ball against the wall, relaxing his shoulders and working on reflexes. Unsurprisingly, he stood alone.

“H-hey.”

“What.”

“Um, I was- I’m just-“

“What have you done?”

“What?! Nothing!”

“Then why are you so nervous?”

“I’m not! It’s just-“

 “Hinata we don’t have all day, what do you want?”

 “ARE YOU LONELY?” Ah. Hinata didn’t mean to do that.

 The whole gym fell silent, eyes drawn to Kageyama, confusion at Hinata’s sudden outburst.

“W-What?”

“Um! Ah, I’m sorry! I’m sorry! It’s just my friends and I were talking at lunch and they pointed out that we never really see you with anyone and then I started thinking about who you eat lunch with but I kept drawing blanks which must mean you eat lunch alone! Which is okay! I know you probably choose to! People are annoying and such, but I just couldn’t stop thinking about it. And I know you probably wouldn’t even ever want to eat lunch with me but I couldn’t help thinking that maybe you don’t eat alone by choice and if you don’t that maybe you’re lonely and I-“

“I am.”

“Huh?” 

“I am lonely.”

Kageyama sighed, turning heel and walked towards the net. The silence of the gym became overwhelming, suffocating. He began to bounce the ball between the wood floors of the court and his palm, desperate for practice to resume as normal.

“...what?” Hinata whispered, unable to move from his spot.

 

~ ~ ~

 

The rest of practice dragged on far longer than Kageyama would’ve liked. He kept trying to lose himself in playing, in setting perfect arcs, but all he could feel was the tension in the gym, the cautiousness. What he hated most though, above everything else, was the feeling of Hinata watching his every move with his eyes doe with pity. He didn’t want to be pitied by Hinata. He was used to being lonely, not even animals liked him, he knew that. This just his life and he just has to get on with it. There are bigger issues to worry about. No one else seemed to have caught onto that notion, however.  
He turned around, snapping towards Hinata.

“Will you stop looking at me like that. It’s annoying.”

“Oh! Um, I’m sorry.”

Kageyama knew Hinata didn’t stop, he could feel the weight of his gaze, of everyone’s gaze. He could hear the mutters between third years, they had a responsibility as upperclassmen to make sure he was okay, but none of them could work out how to help. Kageyama didn’t need help though. He needed the team to practice, to focus on anything but him.  
Walking over to Daichi, Kageyama delivered an ultimatum.

“I’m sorry, but if practice is going to continue like this then I’m going to leave.”

“Ah, no it’s okay. I won’t stop you if you want to leave, but it’s not like you to waste practice time, Kageyama.”

“Yes well, I can’t exactly focus with a team who can’t keep their pitiful gazes off me.” He glared at Hinata.

“Ah, I see. Well, it is getting pretty late anyway, we should call it a night. Shall we grab some meat buns after this?”

“YES! PLEASE DAICHI!!” Hinata bounced in, unaware that the question was _not_ open to the floor.

“Go without me, I don’t feel like food.” 

“Okay, then what do you feel like?”

“...going home.”

“Ah.”

 

~ ~ ~

 

“You know, it’s your fault Hinata, why did you ask him?” Tsukishima muttered, almost nonchalantly, between bites of a pork bun.

“What?! Suga told me I should.” Hinata whined.

“Yes well, I wasn’t exactly expecting him to answer like that.”

 “I don’t think anyone was.” Asahi sighed. No one really knew how to handle this all. 

“Although you didn’t have to shout the question for all to hear, Hinata.” 

“I’m sorry Suga-san, I panicked!”

A chorus of ‘ _we know_ ’s filled the dusk-lit air.

“...Do you think I could catch up to him if I cycle fast enough?”

“Possibly?”

“He did seem pretty determined to leave though, so I’d-“ Daichi was cautious of chasing Kageyama too much, he was already mildly reclusive and he worried that all this attention would drive him further away from the team.  
But before anyone knew it, Hinata was already halfway down the street, calling back with a muffle, bag of spare meat buns between his teeth.

“SANKS FOR TUH FUD DAITHI! SEE YOU TUMOUHROH!”

 

~ ~ ~

 

Hinata ended up cycling far further than Kageyama could’ve gotten on foot, even if he’d ran. And he was certain he hadn’t accidentally passed him, so Hinata began to question if he took another route.  
Rolling to a stop in a local park, Hinata took a moment to catch his breath and work out where on earth Kageyama could possibly be. Although, he supposed that if Kageyama didn’t want to be found then he’d probably have no chance of ever finding him again.  
Luckily, as the universe had it, Kageyama happened to be standing opposite Hinata, tossing a ball back and forth against a tree.  
There was a lack of aggression in his movements; Hinata couldn’t work out if it scared or surprised him. Maybe both.

“K-Kageyama?” He called out cautiously, almost hoping Kageyama wouldn’t hear.

“Hmm?” He looked up, inquisitively, only to be met with the unnaturally bright silhouette of Hinata. “Oh.” 

A moment passed between them, both too uncertain to move. But the moments kept passing, Hinata frozen to the spot and Kageyama running out of interesting things to look at on the floor. He sighed.

“What do you want Hinata?”

“I’m sorry.”

“What?”

“I’m sorry I didn’t realise sooner.”

Kageyama wasn’t expecting Hinata to do anything more than run with his tail between his legs, so when he began what seemed to be a forthcoming heartfelt conversation, Kageyama merely grunted in reply before lowering himself to the floor.  
Hinata hesitated for a moment, still not sure if Kageyama’s demeanour was a rouse to properly splat him when he got close, but this was the most conversational Kageyama had been without insulting Hinata, so he wasn’t going to waste it.  
Gently lowering his bike to the floor, too scared to make any loud noises, he silently walked towards Kageyama and sat beside him.

 “I uh, I kinda presumed you liked being alone.”

“Everyone presumes that.”

“Do you, do you not like being alone?”

“Who does?”

“Uh well...” Hinata felt his brow knit as he pondered the question. Kageyama may be scarier than most people but he was still human after all. Hinata mentally kicked himself for just realising that. “You, you get annoyed real easy so I thought you just didn’t like people.”

Kageyama sighs, it would be so easy to just reply with a grunt, let Hinata finish speaking and be on his way. He wasn’t sure that’s what he wanted though. No one ever real took note of his feelings before, he had a lot he wanted to say, but he cursed the universe for making Hinata the one he would spill everything to.  
He liked Hinata, contrary to popular belief, and he didn’t want to ruin what little contact there was between them.

 “People don’t like me. They think I’m scary and rude. And maybe I am.”

 Hinata wondered if Kageyama’s truly so unself-aware that he didn’t realise the ‘maybe’ was unnecessary, but he lets him continue regardless.

“But, I don’t dislike people. I just get annoyed easily.”

“But why?” Hinata immediately regrets the question before he finished asking it. 

“Wh-why?!” 

Here it comes, the moment he knew Kageyama had been waiting for, a reason to snap, to lash out, Hinata thought.  
He braced himself.

 “I- I suppose I’m used to hostility. I’ve never really had any friends, so I don’t bother trying to make them. And, if they’re not there to be my friend, and they can’t do their job right, why are they even there? I guess it makes me feel that they’re treating me worse than dirt. They think they can waste my time when they’re already so hateful of me, so I, I snap. I guess.”

“...oh.” Kageyama could’ve physically eaten Hinata’s bike piece by piece and Hinata would still be less surprised than he was to hear Kageyama talk about his feelings.

“People just don’t like me. I’m used to it. I’m used to being alone.”

“I like you.”

Kageyama froze. He wanted to say it back but he knew his wouldn’t have to same meaning. But he did like Hinata. He may be dumb, and loud, and excruciatingly annoying at times but he had a passion that Kageyama hadn’t experienced in anyone else before. He always thought he was the only one who cared so painfully about winning, but then Hinata came, bounding along, practically vibrating with a need to play and Kageyama remembered _why_ he cared so much. Hinata was the first one to make him smile in a match again. Hinata was-

“I like you too.”

Hinata gasped, and Kageyama thought it to be out of exaggeration of him actually being nice to Hinata. But as the seconds felt longer he looked up to see Hinata’s face, painted with genuine shock and a beautiful smile.

“Kageyama!!”

“Ugh.” 

“See, look! You do have a friend!” Hinata chimed. “Wait, whoa, are you crying?”

“Shut up.”

“Awh Kageyama, I didn’t know you were such a softie.”

 “I said shut up.” There was no bite to his words, no threat, so Hinata took the opportunity to throw himself over Kageyama in a warm embrace. He was still expecting to be slammed against the floor in disgust, yet Kageyama did quite the opposite. The warmth of his hand gently wrapped around one of Hinata’s slim wrists, a small attempt to hug back. Hinata felt his heart leap into his throat, but he wasn’t quite sure why.

“Hey! I uh- I have some spare pork buns from Daichi, you wanna eat them together?”

“Sure.”

“And how about eating lunch together tomorrow too!”

“...mhmm.”

“Yay! Best friends!” Hinata beamed, throwing himself deeper into the hug, swaying Kageyama under his arms.

Kageyama sighed. “I already regret this.”

“No, you don’t.”

“...No, I don’t.”

**Author's Note:**

> give kagayama friends and love and hugs 2k19
> 
>  
> 
> [come hmu for more haikyuu related screaming on twitter @ bleachedthumbs]


End file.
